OPERATION SIERRA STORM 2024 SPEAKERS
- Daniel Swain, Climate Scientist with UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
- Katharine Hayhoe, Atmospheric Scientist, Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy
- Jamie Rhome, Acting Director; Deputy Director, NOAA’s National Hurricane Center
- Anna Wilson, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
- Andrew Schwartz, Lead Scientist and Manager, UC Berkeley Central
Dr. Daniel Swain
Climate Scientist with UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
Dr. Daniel Swain is a climate scientist focused on the dynamics and impacts of extreme events—including droughts, floods, storms, and wildfires—on a warming planet. Daniel holds joint appointments as a research scientist within UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, a research fellow in the Capacity Center for Climate and Weather Extremes at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and as the California Climate Fellow at The Nature Conservancy. He engages extensively with journalists and other partners, serving as a climate and weather science liaison to print, radio, television, and web media outlets to facilitate broadly accessible and accurate coverage surrounding climate change and the broader Earth system. Daniel is an alumnus of the University of California, Davis (B.S., Atmospheric Science) and of Stanford University (Ph.D., Earth System Science), and completed his postdoctoral work at UCLA. He also authors the Weather West blog (weatherwest.com), which provides real-time perspectives on California and western North American weather and climate, and can be found on Twitter (@Weather_West).
Dr. Katharine Hayhoe
Atmospheric Scientist, Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy
Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist whose research focuses on understanding the impacts of climate change on people and the planet. She is the Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy and a Horn Distinguished Professor and Endowed Professor of Public Policy and Public Law at Texas Tech University. She has served as a lead author for the Second, Third, and Fourth U.S. National Climate Assessments and her work has resulted in over 125 peer-reviewed papers, abstracts, and other publications. She is the author of the best-selling book Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World. She also hosts the PBS Digital Series Global Weirding and is a co-founder of Science Moms. Hayhoe is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the American Scientific Affiliation, an Honourary Fellow of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society, an Oxfam Sister of the Planet, and the World Evangelical Alliance’s Climate Ambassador. She has been named to lists including the TIME 100 Most Influential People and Fortune’s 50 World’s Greatest Leaders, received a number of awards including the National Center for Science Education’s Friend of the Planet Award, the American Geophysical Union’s Climate Communication Prize and Ambassador Award, and the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award, and is a United Nations Champion of the Earth in Science and Innovation. https://www.katharinehayhoe.com
Jamie Rhome
Acting Director; Deputy Director, NOAA’s National Hurricane Center (NHC)
Mr. Rhome received both his Bachelor of Science degree and Master of Science degree in meteorology from North Carolina State University (1999, 2002). He joined the National Hurricane Center in 1999 as a
marine forecaster in the Tropical Analysis and Forecast Branch. He became a hurricane specialist in 2006 and was selected to lead NHC’s Storm Surge program in 2008. He was also selected for a temporary assignment to the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy in 2008/2009 where he served as a scientific policy analyst within the Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations.
As a Storm Surge Specialist and the Team Lead, he served as a subject matter expert on storm surge and coastal inundation for the National Weather Service’s hurricane program. For his pioneering work in developing new storm surge forecast and warning systems, Rhome received the 2016 National Weather Service Isaac Cline award, the 2017 Department of Commerce (DOC) Gold Medal (the highest honorary award in the DOC), the 2019 NOAA Administrator’s Award, the prestigious 2019 Service to America medal (“Sammie”), and the 2021 National Weather Service Regional Cline Award.
Dr. Anna Wilson
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Dr. Anna M. Wilson is the Field Research Manager with the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She earned her Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering under the direction of Dr. Ana Barros at Duke University in 2016. At CW3E, her interests are in supporting the development of physically based, accurate representations of atmospheric rivers and other extreme events in forecasts and projections through integration of in situ and remote sensing observations. Her responsibilities include overseeing ground-based field programs in California, in support of Research and Operations partnerships such as Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations, and coordinating Atmospheric River Reconnaissance.
Dr. Andrew Schwartz
Snow Easy Task: Operating the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab Amidst Weather Chaos
Lead Scientist and Manager, UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab. (Research on snowfall; climate change and future of winter resorts)
Dr. Andrew Schwartz is the Lead Scientist and Station Manager of the University of California, Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Laboratory. His research focuses on developing a better understanding of snowfall and snowpack physical processes, the impact of climate change on those processes, and the development of new measurement methods and instrumentation. Particular focuses of his research are the impacts of wildfire and rain-on-snow events on snowpack and water storage.
He is a proponent and active participant in science communication and believes that sharing research and science with the broader community is beneficial to all those involved and results in better science-informed policy.
Moderator / Conference MC
Rob Mayeda
Meteorologist KNTV, NBC San Jose/Bay Area
Rob provides weekend forecasts and contributes to weekday weather coverage for NBC Bay Area. He also produces and reports on weather-related news specials including the award-winning “On Thin Ice” a report on climate change affecting Alaska’s glaciers. The American Meteorological Society recognized “On Thin Ice” with its “Excellence in Scientific Reporting” award for “highlighting the importance of climate change’s relevance to future impacts to the San Francisco Bay Area.”
Rob’s career in broadcast news began off camera as an ABC News production associate for “20/20” and “Primetime Live.” He later joined the local news assignment desk at KNBC in Burbank where he worked in news special projects also seen on CNBC.
Before calling NBC Bay Area home, Rob worked at KIRO (CBS) in Seattle and at KCRA (NBC) in Sacramento where he spent three years as a morning and weekend weather anchor. Rob was also a weather anchor and reporter in San Luis Obispo and Palm Desert.
Rob holds the American Meteorological Society‘s Television Seal of Approval #1682 earned Emmy awards in 2015, 2011, and 2002 from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, San Francisco Chapter.
He completed his Master of Science degree in Geosciences (Meteorology/Geology/Hydrology) from Mississippi State University. Rob is also a graduate of the University of Arizona where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and English.
Social media updates available @RobMayeda on Twitter and Facebook.